I recently spent three weeks photographing the refugee crisis in Greece, the Balkans and Germany, on assignment for Unicef. On the rocky shores of the Greek island of Lesbos, people scrambled out of their boats, welcomed by an ad hoc group of dedicated and passionate volunteers. Almost 700,000 refugees have arrived in the country this year after making the dangerous passage by sea from Turkey. Governments and NGOs generally have sophisticated systems in place to manage the flow of people in emergency situations in developing countries. But I came across only occasional interventions by organized agencies. “Welcome to Europe!” they called out, hugging relieved refugees. There were many tears. Children, then parents, were wrapped in metallic space blankets. They were given medical assistance and provided with information about the next steps in their passage.
